Story of the Day
In a combined week of August and September 2022, the bond market eclipsed the equities market scoring a 96% to 4% and a 100% score. In regards to the equity market Zambia Sugar Plc recorded the highest turnover throughout the week. Bonds of total face value of K795,286,000 were transacted in 100 trades, resulting in a market value sales of K512,083,740. Read more
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Ending tax relief on fuel in Zambia will lead to faster inflation but the move will be positive for the economy in the long-term, according to the central bank. “Indeed, there will be that nudge in inflation,” Denny Kalyalya, governor of the Bank of Zambia, said Friday in an interview in Le Morne, on the southwestern coast of Mauritius. Over time, such mechanisms will have “more lasting beneficial effects,” he said. Read more: Bloomberg
The Zambian government expects its economy to grow at 4% per year in the medium term and is focused on resolving the country’s debt crisis, President Hakainde Hichilema said on Friday. According to the Bank of Zambia, the economy grew 3.6% in 2021 after a 2.8% contraction in 2020, when Zambia became the first African country to default on its sovereign debt during the COVID-19 pandemic. “We have put our economy on a positive growth trajectory in the last 12 months and we project the economy to bottom up from this negative growth,” Hichilema told parliament, and forecast an economic expansion of 4% in the medium term. Read more: Reuters
Minister of Finance and National Planning has disclosed that government will hike electricity tariffs gradually over a period of five years.
Speaking during a Private Sector engagement forum on the International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout program, Dr. Situmbeko Musokotwane said increasing electricity tariffs will prove to be harsh on Zambians but is beneficial for the country in the long run.
“Government is aware that there is need for more investment in electricity but there will be a minimal increase of electricity tariffs over a period of time, “he said. Read more: Money FM
Energy Minister Peter Kapala says the Rural Electrification Authority needs about $50 million to achieve at least 50 percent rural connectivity by 2030. In an interview, Kapala said the country would see a lot of rural electrification in the next three years. “REA needs about $50 million for them to achieve maybe half of the country by 2030. Last year we gave them 20 million, this year I will check how much has been allocated, at least we are increasing thereby lighting up our rural areas. Read more: News Diggers
International Business and Finance
Nigeria is no longer Africa’s number one crude oil producer, according to the latest monthly production output report by the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). The number one spot was overtaken by Angola, which pumped 1.17 million barrels of crude daily in August, more than 1.13 million daily output by Nigeria during the same month. This is the first time Nigeria has dropped from the number one spot in five years. And this was expected, seeing as Nigeria’s crude oil output has been declining steadily in recent years. Read more: Business Insider
Funding pledges for Africa’s flagship climate programme, the Africa Adaption Acceleration Programme (AAAP), fell far short of the estimated $25bn needed over the next five years at the Africa Adaptation Summit, held in Rotterdam on 5 September, Commitments by the UK ($23m), Norway ($15m), France ($10m) and Denmark ($7m) amounted to $55m. The African Development Bank had already committed $12.5bn and it was hoped that richer nations would commit the rest. “The AAAP is the largest effort globally for adaptation. But we need the money,” said Akinwumi Adesina, president of the African Development Bank (AfDB). “The AfDB put down $12.5bn out of $25bn so we’re not begging. We are saying that we didn’t cause the problem… We’ve come to the conversation with commitment – meet us halfway.” Speaking in his capacity as chair of the African Union, President Macky Sall of Senegal, said: “Africa needs to invest massively in adaptation and resilience… I urge Africa’s development partners to fully fund the AAAP and make it an exemplary model of what is possible when we collaborate.” Read more: African Business
The Bank of England has postponed a key decision on interest rates following the death of Queen Elizabeth II. It said that “in light of the period of national mourning”, the Monetary Policy Committee’s decision would now be announced at midday on 22 September. It follows moves by several public bodies to change their plans for the coming week after the death of Britain’s longest-reigning monarch. The Bank had widely been expected to increase rates on Thursday. Economists had been predicting that the UK’s central bank would raise rates to 2.25% – the highest level since December 2008. Read more: BBC News
The UK economy grew by 0.2% in July, according to official data, following a sharp drop in the previous month. The Office for National Statistics said the services sector was the biggest contributor to growth, helped by the UK hosting the Women’s Euro Championship. However, while the economy expanded in July, the growth was slower than analysts had expected. Read more: BBC News
Capital Markets Report
In 56 trades recorded yesterday, 97,392 shares were transacted resulting in a turnover of K250,310. A share price gain was recorded in Zanaco of K0.01. A share price loss was recorded in Zambeef of K0.01. Trading activity was also recorded in Copperbelt Energy Corporation, Madison Financial Services, Pamodzi, Standard Chartered Zambia, Zambia Sugar, ZAFFICO and CEC Africa on the quoted tier. The LuSE All Share Index (LASI) closed at 7,058.84 points, 0.04% up from its previous close of 7,056.22 points. The market closed on a capitalization of K71,657,558,044 including Shoprite Holdings and K36,874,872,604 excluding Shoprite Holdings.